Kimberley Hotels

Introducing Kimberley

The South African city of Kimberley is known as the Diamond City and the capital of the Northern Cape. Kimberley is located near the confluence of the Vaal and Orange Rivers.  Due to its diamond mining past and the siege during the Second Boer War, Kimberley is rich in history.

Cecil Rhodes and Ernest Oppenheimer made their fortunes here and the roots of the De Beers Corp. can be traced to the early days of the mining town. In 1866, the first small diamond was found in Kimberley and in 1871 an even larger one and within a month  claims were cut into the hillock.  Approximately 50,000 miners arrived and dug into this hill which later became known as Kimberley's Big Hole.  By 1873, Kimberley was the second largest town in South Africa.

The Big Hole in Kimberley

The Big Hole in Kimberley, Northern Cape, is the largest man made hole in the world.   Kimberley's Big Hole covers a surface of 17 ha and is 463 meters wide. It was excavated by hand to a depth of 240m, but later partially filled with debris reducing its depth to 215m.  It has now accumulated water to a depth of 40m leaving 175m visible, but there is over four times as much hole below the water's surface. The Big Hole in Kimberley, South Africa, was closed as a working mine in 1914.  A fantastic viewing platform is available for visitors to overlook the Big Hole.

Kimberley Mine Museum

The Kimberley Mine Museum is a quaint museum village located on the western side of the Big Hole.  48  original buildings are grouped together to form a reconstruction of Kimberley in 1880's complete with cobbled streets, miners cottages, shops etc.  Visitors have the opportunity to see Barney Barnato's boxing academy and Cecil Rhode's railway carriage which carried him as governor of the Cape of Good Hope to Rhodesia.  De Beers Hall has a collection of  diamonds at the Kimberley Mine Museum which can be viewed.

Anglo-Boer War Battlefields, Northern Cape

The Siege of Kimberley lasted for 124 days before the town was relieved by the British army of Lords Roberts and Kitchener on 15 Feb, 1900.  These battlefields are south and east of Kimberley.  At the Modder River, blockhouses can be seen  A large cannon called 'Long Cecil' which was built in the the Beers workshops and used in Kimberley during the siege can be seen at the Honoured Dead Memorial which honours those who lost their lives in the siege.

Magersfontein Battlefield Museum, South Africa

The Magersfontein Battlefield Museum is located 30km south of Kimberley. There is an observation point from which great views of the battlefield and the trenches can be enjoyed. There is an interesting field museum as well as a collection of weapons and uniforms at the Magersfontein Battlefield Museum.

Oppenheimer Memorial Gardens, Kimberley

In the Oppenheimer Memorial Gardens one can find a marble colonnade which contains a bust of Sir Ernest Oppenheimer who founded the giant Anglo American Corporation in 1917.  Surrounding the Digger's Fountain are five bronze miners.

McGregor Museum, Kimberley

The building of the McGregor Museum in Kimberley was completed in 1897 and Cecil Rhodes sat out the siege in the two downstairs rooms of this building.  It now houses a museum of natural and cultural history and has important ethnological and archeological displays, as well as rock paintings.